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The wonderful wafer-thin French pancakes called crepes fill a niche in contemporary dining. Made with light sauces and fillings, they suit today’s passion for healthy fare.

The word crêpe refers both to the individual pancake and the filled creation. Fast to assemble and ballooning with a voluptuous variety of savory fillings – fresh vegetables and herbs, seafood, poultry, and meat crêpes can serve as appetizers, first courses, and entrées. Filled with seasonal fruit, souffles, sauces, sorbets, or ice cream, they become sumptuous desserts.

Savored for centuries, crêpes are celebrating a revival today, with crêperies opening throughout France, America, and elsewhere in the world.

The word crêpe is French for pancake, from the Latin crispus, meaning crisp. In France, crêpes were originally called galettes crêpes, meaning flat cakes. The French pronunciation of the word is with a short e, as in bed.

Crêpes originated in Brittany, the northwest region of France, where they rarely had fillings and were used as bread. Until about one hundred years ago, all crepes were made of buckwheat flour. Read more @ Epicurean.com